Saturday, December 29, 2012

Letter from Chinese Slave Laborer "Made in China"

Did you ever hear the one about the guy who opened a fortune cookie and inside the fortune read "Help, I'm an imprisoned worker in a Chinese Fortune Cookie Factory." Well the joke no longer seems so funny as we learn about the real life version.

This story caps off a year muddled in stories of poor working conditions in China. Conditions are poor enough for the laborers who make your iPod to commit suicide. Is it really worth the small savings? Inexpensive Chinese goods come at a price. In October we learned that Foxconn put up to 200 14-16 year old "interns" on the manufacturing line. The minimum working age in China is 16. They will likely be working 60 hours at 18. It's not enough that paid workers make next to nothing and work in horrible conditions but they need to get kids to work for free?

Today many Americans are asking themselves what do we do? What is our responsibility as ethical consumers? We might not have realized it is this bad as we now learn of a unique letter placed in Halloween decorations by an imprisoned Chinese worker.

"If you occassionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands [of] people here who are under the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever. This product produced by Unit 8, Department 2 Mashanja, Labour Camp, Shenyang, Liaoning China. People who work here, have to work 15 hours a day without Saturday, Sunday break and any holidays, otherwise they will suffer torturement beatings, rude remarks, nearly no payment (10 yuan/month). People who work here suffer punishment 1-3 years on average without Court Sentencing many of them are Falungong practitioners who are totally innocent people only because they have different beliefs than the Chinese Communist Party Government. They often suffer more punishment than others."

The Halloween decorations were purchased at Kmart, they released a statement:

"Sears Holdings has a Global Compliance Program which helps to ensure that vendors and factories producing merchandise for our company adhere to specific Program Requirements, and all local laws pertaining to employment standards and workplace practices. Failure to comply with any of the Program Requirements, including the use of forced labor, may result in a loss of business or factory termination. We understand the seriousness of this allegation, and will continue to investigate."